Local Sports

St. Marys wins W.Va. Class A state cross country title

Koa Navarro wins individual crown

ONA, W.Va. -- It was quite the Saturday here at Cabell Midland for the Little Kanawha Conference at the state cross country championships.

Ritchie County freshman Layla Devereux put an exclamation mark on her first state meet by winning it all with a time of 19 minutes and 29 seconds as St. Marys' Anna Bennett, a four-time first team all-stater, took runner-up honors in 20:08.

The Rebels of head coach Holli Haddox Vaughan also got a first team all-state run from Cassandra Hardbarger (4th, 21:37) en route to a 44-70 Class A state championship victory over the Blue Devils.

"After we ate breakfast we went over and walked a little bit. We walked the course the day before. I was really nervous," admitted Devereux, who was joined in the team scoring by Jayden Primm (11th, 22:02), Abigail Hardbarger (12th, 22:12) and Charlee Haddox (23rd, 23:31). "We were with each other and I was tucked in behind her for like the first mile.

"Then I got right beside her for the second mile. Everybody was cheering me on and I was like ‘well, this is the only chance I’ll have to do this,’ so I just kind of laughed because her coaches were saying ‘if you stay with her she can’t run on the track, so you’ll be able to easily pass her’ and then I just like took off down that hill and kept going."

Bennett, who was sixth as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore and third last fall, was joined on the all-state first team by Savana Burd (6th, 21:42), who finished seventh as a junior.

Madelyn Smith (21st, 23:18), Anna Roush (22nd, 23:26) and Mariah Whitlock (29th, 24:10) aided the Pleasants County program to the runner-up finish.

The St. Marys boys edged Trinity, 43-50, to win the state crown while the Rebels had 76 to finish third.

It was an unexpected one-two finish for the Blue Devils of head man Steven Nutter as Koa Navarro crossed first with a time of 16 minutes and 52 seconds, which was 22 ticks faster than state runner-up teammate Desmond Parks.

"It was really nice to win both the singular title and the team title," admitted Navarro, who was fourth a year ago at Wood County Christian while Barnes placed seventh. "Really proud of the way Desmond ran. That’s definitely the best he’s ran all season. I mean he really surprised me today. We were coming to like the last 400 meters and I hear coach yelling at me that Desmond is coming right behind me and I was so happy for him. It was one of my better ones for sure. I think I played it really smart.

"Definitely not my fastest race. I just took it easy the first mile and stayed behind in like third or fourth and when we got right past the mile mark I just took it and never looked back. I expected to win. I was trying to just be confident and keep the nerves down, which was a little hard. It was really refreshing to cross the line. Last year I tried winning and that didn’t work. It was really nice, just last chance during high school cross country to get a state title. It means a lot."

SMHS also received a first team all-state effort from Parker Barnes, whose time of 17:42 was good for sixth, as the senior earned all-state first team for the second time. Wyatt Payne's run of 18 minutes and 24 seconds put him on the second team in 15th place while Noah Mote (22nd, 18:51) accounted for the final team scorer.

"Special day for eight seniors. Incredible runs across the board," Nutter said. "Anytime you bring home a state championship and a state runner-up with such a great group of kids it’s a tremendous day. Desmond Parks stepped up in a way that we knew it was in there from workouts and runs, and the ability he showed in track. I mean he was the major difference today going from a ranking outside of the top 10 to all the way to pulling off a second-place finish in a stacked single-A field. Trinity ran tremendous with five guys in the top 17, but one through seven, every one of our boys stepped up and after the mile mark, all made moves. Moves we had to have to bring home the championship. Just a tremendous day.

"On the girls side, Savana Burd’s been hurt since the middle of track season. Only ran about a month. For her to step up and get sixth at the state meet after everything she’s been through is incredible. Anna Bennett has had a glorious, amazing, there’s no words I can say, career at St. Marys High School. Four-time all-regional champion, PR of 18:36, has led us to two state runner-up titles and a state title. More importantly she’s a better kid than she is a runner. It’s just been special for me to have the opportunity to coach her along with the other seniors we have.

Played a tremendous role in putting our program back on top for the last three years. The stretch that the seniors have had and they’ve been a part of has been something we’ll be talking about for years to come, for sure."

Nutter also gave kudos to Mote, who helped the Blue Devils defeat Liberty on the gridiron Friday night at Bill Hanlin Stadium.

"Noah played football until 11 o’clock last night, made a huge touchdown catch and got down here and was a tremendous part for us getting in the top five, and holding off a bunch of dudes that are really good," added the coach. "For him to be in that top five and help lead us to victory was a big thing, too."

Also cracking the top 10 from the area and earning first team all-state honors were Calhoun County's Brooke Tingler (5th, 21:40), Gilmer County's Paige Sterns (9th, 21:40), Ritchie County's Jenner Stewart (3rd, 17:23) and fellow Rebel Kenson Roman (10th, 17:52). Sterns earned first team status last year as a junior at Calhoun County.

Wirt County's Sam Williams (16th, 18:25) was joined on the second team by Rebels Landen Bartlett (18th, 18:32) and Seth Cronin (19th, 18:36). Also earning second team status were Wirt County teammates Allison Bumgarner (13th, 22:26) and Kinsley Nicolais (19th, 23:04).

"They knew that they could do it," coach Vaughan said of her state champion girls. "I think they felt confident and their confidence showed on the course today.

"They performed even better today than they had the last two weeks. It was a great day to be a Rebel."

Although the RCHS boys didn't bring home any team hardware, Vaughan was more than pleased with the effort.

"The boys were third in the state so that was big. We performed better than predicted so it’s always good when you out perform your rankings," said the coach. "Our next two (Bartlett and Cronin) were seniors and we were really hoping that they would run well leaving it all out there today. They are pretty proud to be second team all-state, too.

"They got that accolade and that’s a big deal. Seth is a big-time basketball player and that was his comment. He was like ‘I’m second team cross country before I’m second team basketball,’ so he’s really proud of that, especially as a senior. They are going to feel good about finishing their season."

Speaking of feeling good about finishing their season, there was plenty of that in the Class AA field when it came to the LKC.

Williamstown's Cassie Sites capped her career as a four-time first team all-stater for the Yellowjackets of first-year head coach Greg Gant, whose squad brought home the runner-up team trophy after finishing behind Lincoln, 44-78, as Braxton County (79) placed third.

Sites, who was third as a freshman, fifth as a sophomore and fourth a year ago, crossed in 20 minutes and 13 seconds, which was good for fourth. The other first team efforts from the LKC were Clay County's Marissa Atha (5th, 20:27), Ravenswood's Gwyn Gorrell (7th, 20:48), Braxton County's Reece Carpenter (9th, 21:04.7) and Sites' freshman teammate Raeley Perdue (10th, 21:04.7).

Tyler Consolidated senior Travis Moore, who entered as the favorite, became a three-time first team all-stater after taking the crown in 16 minutes and 32 seconds.

The Doddridge County boys finished runner-up behind Frankfort, 47-87, and were led by Cory Swentzel (4th, 17:18), Samuel Gola (6th, 17:29), Colton Key (10th, 17:41), Cayleb Amos (40th, 18:55) and Reed Modesitt (42nd, 18:57). Gola placed seventh a year ago as a junior.

Williamstown's Gavin Wilburn finished in 17 minutes and 40 seconds, which put him in ninth. Wilburn also was first team in 2025 after placing eighth for Ravenswood.

"I'm extremely proud of the effort from our girls today," stated coach Gant, who also had scoring runs from Kendall Gant (21st, 22:44), Lucy Collins (22nd, 22:45) and Alia Phelps (41st, 24:24). "Congratulations to Lincoln on the championship. Our girls fought hard and finished second, which is something they should be proud of.

"Cassie and Raeley both earned first team all-state honors, which is a tremendous accomplishment. Overall, I couldn't be happier with the effort and determination this group showed today and all year. They represented Williamstown extremely well. It was nice to see Gavin Wilburn get all-state honors as well."

Two other boys earned second team all-state accolades – Braxton County's Ira Ransbottom (17th, 17:55) and Ravenswood's Mason Kerns (19th, 17:57).

For the girls, Braxton County had Leah Payne (12th, 21:42) and Chelsea Payne (15th, 22:16) while Doddridge County's Emily Cottrill finished in 22 minutes and 35 seconds, which was good for 19th.

CLASS AA

GIRLS TEAM SCORES: 1. Lincoln 44, 2. Williamstown 78, 3. Braxton County 79, 4. Frankfort 87, 5. Oak Glen 91, 6. Buffalo 152, 7. Clay County 177, 8. Doddridge County 198, 9. Sissonville 232

First Team All-State

1. Bailey Ferguson (F) 18:48, 2. Raley Cochran (L) 19:28, 3. Adalynn Milnes (L) 19:48, 4. Cassie Sites (Wtown) 20:13, 5. Marissa Atha (CC) 20:27, 6. Lacey Cameron (OG) 20:44, 7. Gwyn Gorrell (Ravenswood) 20:48, 8. Samantha Fitch (L) 20:57, 9. Reece Carpenter (BC) 21:04.7, 10. Raeley Perdue (Wtown) 21:04.7

Area Finishers

12. Leah Payne (BC) 21:42*, 15. Chelsea Payne (BC) 22:16*, 19. Emily Cottrill (DC) 22:35*, 21. Kendall Gant (Wtown) 22:44, 22. Lucy Collins (Wtown) 22:45, 23. Addie Taylor (Roane) 22:46, 26. Mackinzey Anderson (BC) 23:06, 36. Aven Woods (BC) 23:49, 40. Andi Fiber (Tyler) 24:13, 41. Alia Phelps (Wtown) 24:24, 44. Salys Shotwell (Wtown) 24:32, 46. Alexis McVey (Rwood) 24:44, 48. Bridget Kirby (Wtown) 25:05, 49. Avah Mollohan (BC) 25:09, 51. Abigail Grandon (CC) 25:14, 56. Amelia Weekley (DC) 25:58, 60. Amber Ebert (Tyler) 26:38, 62. Marley Sias (DC) 26:39, 63. Abigail James (DC) 26:40, 64. Tara Conley (CC) 27:19, 65. Josie Cox (Roane) 27:40, 67. Taylor Bodkins (DC) 28:23, 70. Jahna Brown (Tyler) 29:41, 74. Miranda Morris (CC) 31:00,

BOYS TEAM SCORES: 1. Frankfort 47, 2. Doddridge County 87, 3. Buffalo 116, 4. Williamstown 118, 5. Ravenswood 129, 6. Wayne 165, 7. Braxton County 165, 8. James Monroe 199, 9. Lincoln 202, 10. Westside 235, 11. Independence 260, 12. Scott 288

First Team All-State

1. Travis Moore (Tyler) 16:32, 2. Eric Mac Alexander (F) 16:52, 3. Johnny Jackson (F) 16:53, 4. Cory Swentzel (DC) 17:18, 5. Carter Knight (L) 17:27, 6. Samuel Gola (DC) 17:29, 7. Brody Lester (Westside) 17:33, 8. Dakota Henderson (Wayne) 17:39, 9. Gavin Wilburn (Wtown) 17:40, 10. Colton Key (DC) 17:41

Area Finishers

17. Ira Ransbottom (BC) 17:55*, 19. Mason Kerns (Rwood) 17:57*, 22. Jose Andrae (Rwood) 18:05, 24. Brody Pickens (Wtown) 18:07, 26. Brody Nice (Tyler) 18:17, 28. Gabriel Sandy (Wtown) 18:21, 30. Kaden Gray (Rwood) 18:25.0, 31. Hunter Rich (BC) 18:25.6, 33. Leo Thomas (BC) 18:34, 35. Johnny Heath (Rwood) 18:36, 37. Chase Pickering (Wtown) 18:53, 40. Cayleb Amos (DC) 18:55, 41. Zander Boyce (Wtown) 18:57, 42. Reed Modesitt (DC) 18:57, 43. Kian McGoskey (Rwood) 18:59, 45. Trey Moore (Tyler) 19:07, 52. Cole McGoskey (Rwood) 19:25, 54. JC Steiger (BC) 19:30, 59. Jamie Spurlock (BC) 19:41, 60. Isiah Nesselroad (Rwood) 19:47, 67. Noah Mourat (Wtown) 19:55.1, 68. Jonathan Cross (Tyler) 19:55.7, 73. Landry Turner (DC) 20:20, 79. Austin Eagleson (DC) 20:27, 86. Isiah Woods (Clay) 20:59, 89. Sylas Shotwell (Wtown) 21:09, 92. Conner Tinnel (BC) 21:35, 96. Toby Yeager (Clay) 22:24

CLASS A

GIRLS TEAM SCORES: 1. Ritchie County 44, 2. St. Marys 70, 3. Trinity 81, 4. Wheeling Central 120, 5. Wirt County 127, 6. Charleston Catholic 130, 7. Webster County 184, 8. Gilmer County 185, 9. Pendleton County 217

First Team All-State

1. Layla Devereux (RC) 19:29, 2. Anna Bennett (SM) 20:08, 3. Brianna Blake (T) 21:29, 4. Cassandra Hardbarger (RC) 21:37, 5. Brooke Tingler (Calhoun) 21:40, 6. Savana Burd (SM) 21:42, 7. Ila Hutnick (Central) 21:44, 8. Cassie Meriner (Central) 21:47, 9. Paige Sterns (GC) 21:49, 10. Khloe Evans (Cameron) 21:50

Area Finishers

11. Jayden Primm (RC) 22:02*, 12. Abigail Hardbarger (RC) 22:12*, 13. Allison Bumgarner (Wirt) 22:26*, 19. Kinsley Nicolais (Wirt) 23:04*, 21. Madelyn Smith (SM) 23:18, 22. Anna Roush (SM) 23:26, 23. Charlee Haddox (RC) 23:31, 27. Arabella Smarr (Wirt) 24:01, 28. Payton Bartlett (RC) 24:08, 29. Mariah Whitlock (SM) 24:10, 32. Josie Barr (RC) 24:24, 33. Sidni Gerlach (SM) 24:29, 37. Maria Mincey (GC) 24:55, 39. Skylie Thompson (Wirt) 25:09, 41. Lindsey Barcus (Magnolia) 25:32, 42. Carissa Sands (Calhoun) 25:32, 52. Zoe Yoak (Wirt) 26:50, 55. Erin Stoddard (GC) 27:23, 58. Gabi Smith (Calhoun) 27:37, 63. Avry Bennett (SM) 30:18, 66. Destiny Nicholas (Wirt) 31:27, 67. Sarah Logan (Wirt) 31:56, 69. Hayley Sprouse (GC) 33:22, 70. Bailey Metz (GC) 34:41

BOYS TEAM SCORES: 1. St. Marys 43, 2. Trinity 50, 3. Ritchie County 76, 4. Charleston Catholic 96, 5. Wirt County 154, 6. Webster County 179, 7. Tucker County 196, 8. Richwood 208, 9. Clay-Battelle 211, 10. Wheeling Central 222

First Team All-State

1. Koa Navarro (SM) 16:52, 2. Desmond Parks (SM) 17:14, 3. Jenner Stewart (RC) 17:23, 4. Jacob Stephens (T) 17:30, 5. Lucas Passmore (CC) 17:38, 6. Parker Barnes (SM) 17:42, 7. Edward Passmore (CC) 17;44, 8. Mason Melohn (T) 17:47.6, 9. Frank Jacquez (T) 17:47.7, 10. Kenson Roman (RC) 17:52

Area Finishers

15. Wyatt Payne (SM) 18:24*, 16. Sam Williams (Wirt) 18:25*, 18. Landen Bartlett (RC) 18:32*, 19. Seth Cronin (RC) 18:36*, 22. Noah Mote (SM) 18:51, 23. Manowah Vaughn (Magnolia) 18:59, 25. Lucas Curfman (Wirt) 19:11, 28. Carter Sole (SM) 19:25, 29. Nolan McCallister (Wirt) 19:29, 30. Braidin Ferrell (Calhoun) 19:29, 33. Jackson Clawson (Calhoun) 19:39, 34. Linhang Chen (RC) 19:40, 38. Eli Ferrell (Calhoun) 19:58, 42. Hunter Haddox (SM) 20:24, 44. Zac Smith (Calhoun) 20:40, 46. Reidyn Dennison (Gilmer) 20:43, 48. Austyn Byrd (RC) 20:53, 57. Colton Butler (Wirt) 21:32, 59. Thackery Workman (RC) 21:46,, 64. Alijah Ritchie (Wirt) 22:52, 81. Ian Belt (Wirt) 28:27, 82. Ashton Keaton (Wirt) 30:21

*Denotes second team all-state